The Hague, Netherlands (PANA) - Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday issued a warrant of arrest for Libyan Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf Al-Werfalli, allegedly responsible for murder as a war crime in the context of the non-international armed conflict in Libya.

A statement on the ICC website said Mr Al-Werfalli is alleged to have "directly committed and to have ordered the commission of murder as a war crime in the context of seven incidents", involving 33 persons. These took place from on or before 3 June 2016 until on or about 17 July 2017 in Benghazi or surrounding areas, in Libya.

The statement said the situation in Libya was referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council in its Resolution 1970 dated 26 February 2011. On 3 March 2011, the Prosecutor announced the decision to open an investigation in the situation in Libya.

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said the Libyan authorities have the primary responsibility to arrest and surrender Mr al-Werfalli to the ICC.

"I call upon them to do so immediately so that the judges of the Court can independently and impartially assess the evidence to determine his guilt or innocence," she said.

"Mr al-Werfalli is presumed innocent until proven guilty and the burden is on my Office to prove that he is guilty of the crimes we allege he committed. My Office can only discharge that burden if Mr al-Werfalli appears before ICC judges."

Ms Bensouda appealed to the international community to cooperate and assist Libya, as needed, to ensure the arrest and surrender of Mr al-Werfalli to the ICC without delay.

"I equally call on the UNSC (UN Security Council) to support such efforts. Timely and effective cooperation in the enforcement of warrants of arrest issued by the Court is crucial so that justice is done and is seen to be done," she added.
-0- PANA MA/AR 15Aug2017